Apparatus for separating articles



July 3, 1934. c.D. KNowLToN APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING ARTICLES.

Filed Dec. 4, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet l iu j 55 ya." l'

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APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING ARTICLES Filed Deo. 4, 19.31- 3 Sheets-Shee-t 3 fr/f///// I: y ii mm ""ml I mmm? gif?" r #il afm Patented July 3, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFCE APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING ARTICLES Application December 4, 1931, Serial No. 579,041

19 Claims.

My invention relates to apparatus for separating articles from a series, it being especially directed to the separation of nested boxes or boxparts.

When boxes, as those for holding pairs of shoes, are to be kept in stock by the maker, they are customarily stacked or nested in series, in which the successive boxes are inclined alternately in opposite directions. When the thus-stacked boxes are to be shipped to the user, they must be unstacked for the reception of the covers and their assembling in packages. This heretofore is believed to have been done manually. It is an object of my invention to effect this separation automatically, with rapidity and certainty, and by relatively simple means. To accomplish the desired result, there is provided a conduit or other means by which is supplied a series of articles, nested or otherwise. When the articles are nested, there is combined with the supplying means, a member for causing the separation of a terminal article of the series from its nested relation with the succeeding article of the series and for supporting the nested series during the separation of said terminal article. There is preferably employed movable separating means arranged to engage successively single articles of the series, each article during separation supporting the remainder of said series, and means for moving the member to change the form of the engaged article, as by its contraction or expansion or both. There may be separate moving means for the member, one of which effects the change of form of the terminal article of the series, as by rotating the separating member,

while another shifts said member bodily, or re.

ciprocates it, in engagement with a succeeding article. The former loosens the engagement between the articles, to prepare for their separation. The latter completes the separation. In lthus operating upon boxes, that at the end of the nested series is contracted by compressing opposite sides toward each other, while the next box is expanded by drawing the sides apart. In this action the member engages both the inside and the outside of the boxes. The particular separating member herein disclosed is in the form of a helix, to which the boxes are delivered through a chute, said helix being both rotated and reciprocated to give thesuccessive separating eiects. To avoid clogging of the boxes during their delivery, the helices, of which there are ordinarily two engaging opposite side-walls, have their axes inclined respectively to said walls at such an angle that the tendency to skew or turn the boxes angularly in the chute is minimized. Since, in the separating position, the boxes have their open sides down and it is desirable to present them with the open sides up for their closing by the covers, I prefer to interpose between the separating means and a conveyor which transfers the boxes to the closing station, an inverting abutment lying in the path of the falling boxes, together with a second abutment directing upon the conveyor boxes received from the inverting abutment.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 shows in side elevation a particular embodiment of my invention;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation thereof;

Fig. 3, an enlarged top plan view of the separating mechanism; and

Figs. 4, 5 and 6 illustrate in broken elevation successive operating positions of the separating mechanism.

Boxes B, nested in alternate oppositely inclined relation to form a stack, are placed in a chute or conduit 10, shown as extending vertically and having certain of its side-walls adjustable toward and from the opposite walls by slot-andscrew connections 12. This adjustment allows the chute to accommodate boxes of different sizes. It will be observed that, in Fig. 2, the chute and associated elements, except those employed for applying power to the apparatus, appear in duplicate. This, however, is merely a matter of convenience of installation, and, as the two apparatuses are preferably identical, but one will be described. The boxes in the nested series are inserted in the chute with their open sides down. At each of the opposite sides of the chute and stack is supported a separating member, shown as consisting of a helix 14 of wire, with its axis intersecting the path of the boxes descending through the chute. But one of these supporting and separating helices will be described in detail, they being generally the same as to form and position. The outer extremity of each helix is secured to ahead 16 provided with an inwardly inclined peripheral surface 18 directing the contacting edges of the boxes into engagement with the helix. The head is fast upon the inner end of a substantially horizontal shaft 20 mounted to turn in a bearing member 22, which is iixed to a frame 24 .carrying the lower end of the chute 10. Slot-and-screw connections 26 permit adjustment of the bearing, and consequently of the shaft and separating member, toward and from the chute to correspond to the change of the dimensions of said chute by the connections 12.

Considered in a horizontal plane, the shaft is shown as inclined with respect to the adjacent side of the chute, the relation being such that a line bisecting the angle between the opposite sides of a convolution of the helix lies substantially parallel to the side of the chute. The reason for this will appear later.

The shaft 20 is connected by sprocket-gearing 28 to a shaft 30 journaled transversely of the frame 24, and which supplies power to both mem-- bers 14. Sprocket-gearing 32 joins the shaft 30 to a lower shaft 34, which, with a shaft 36 shown as occupying the same horizontal plane as said shaft 34, carries a double chain-conveyor 33 lying below and somewhat to one side of the deliveryend of the chute 10. The shaft 36 is driven by belt-gearing 40 from a motor 42, and, in turn, transmits power to the shaft 34 by belt-gearing 43. The chains 38 may receive and advance the separated boxes to an upwardly inclined chainconveyor 44, which is driven by the shaft 34 and which carries the boxes to the closing station. Each of the chains 38 and 44 is preferably provided with box-engaging lugs 46. The gearing just described produces rotation of the separating members 14 in the direction indicated by the arrows in Fig. 4. In addition, each member is given a bodily movement of reciprocation longitudinally of the axis of its shaft 20. This may be effected by securing to the shaft a disk or like member 50, in which is a circumferential cam-groove receiving a projection 52 upon the frame. As a result of this engagement, as the shaft rotates, it is moved longitudinally through a distance equal to the throw of the cam.

At the beginning of a separating cycle, the members 14, 14 will lie as illustrated in Fig. 3, and will support the entire stack in the chute 10.

The side-walls of the terminal box, descending by the action of gravity upon the stack, produce this engagement, those walls which are bulged outwardly being guided into the helices by the inclined surfaces 18. The direction of rotation of the members 14 is such that the contacting box-walls will be carried inwardly, under the influence of the inclined convolutions of the helices, and, on account of the inclination of the shaft 20 of each helix and the consequent symmetrical relation of the opposite sides of each turn of said helix to the engaged walls, there will be little tendency for the forces applied to turn the stack about a vertical axis and introduce resistance to its descent through the chute. Thus acted upon by the rotating helices, the side-walls of the terminal box approach the inner ends of said helices, and, during this action, said walls are being carried toward each other by longitudinal movement of the shafts 20. This is as illustrated in Fig. 4. It will be seen that, by this means, the side-walls of the terminal box have been freed from engagement with the succeeding box in the series, except adjacent to the terminal box-bottom. When the lower edges of the sidewalls of the terminal box clear the ends of the Y rotating helices, the stack drops in the chute to the position shown in Fig. 5. The outer surfaces of the walls of the terminal box are now sliding upon the ends of the helices and are further bent toward each other to contract this dimension of the box. Finally, the edges of the walls of the succeeding box in the descending series strike the helices 14, so all the stack, save the terminal box, is supported upon them. At this time, the cams 50 reverse the bodily movement of the helices, which travel outwardly from the stack. This draws from each other the opposite sides of the succeeding box, by engagement with the inner margins of the walls of which are now resting between the convolutions of the helices. This is as appears in Fig. 6. This action releases the terminal box, which falls free from the expanded box. In its descent, thelower edge of its inner wall strikes a horizontal abutment 56 at the inner side of the conveyor-chains 38. This partially inverts the box, as will be seen in Fig. 2, which then contacts with a lower inclined abutment 58, the latter sufficiently completing the inversion to deliver the box right side up to the chains 38. Transferred in this relation to the closing station by the conveyor 44, it is in a position convenient for the operator to apply the cover. Following the delivery of the separated box, the helices 14 simultaneously rotate and travel inwardly in contact with the box which is now at the end of the series, beginning the next separating cycle. It will be seen that the only manual effort necessary to maintain a continuous supply of separated boxes to the closing operator or operators is the placing of stacks of boxes in the chute 10. These stacks may each contain a considerable number of boxes.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In an apparatus for separating articles from a series, means for supplying a series of articles, a movable separating member arranged to engage successively single articles in the supplied series, each article during separation furnishing a support for the remainder of the series, and means for moving the member to both contract and expand the engaged article.

2. In an apparatus for separating articles from a nested series, means for supplying a series of nested articles, a member for causing the separation of a terminal article frcm its nested relation with the succeeding article and for supporting the series during the separation of said terminal article, and means for rotating and reciprocating the member.

3. In an apparatus for separating articles from a nested series, means for supplying nested articles, a movable separating member co-operating with the supplying means and arranged for engagement with the terminal article to support the series, and means for moving the member in engagement with both the inside and outside of the terminal article.

4. In an apparatus for separating articles from a Vnested series, means for supplying nested articles, a movable separating member co-operating with the supplying means and arranged for engagement with the terminal article to support the series, means for moving the member to change the form of the terminal article, and means for moving the member in engagement with the succeeding article in the series to release the terminal article.

5. In an apparatus for separating articles from a nested series, means for supplying nested articles, a movable separating member co-operating with the supplying means and arranged for engagement with the terminal article to support the series, and means for rotating the member about an axis intersecting the nested series to change the form of the terminal article.

6. In an apparatus for separating articles from a nested series, means for supplying nested articles, a movable separating member co-operating with the supplying means and arranged for engagement with the terminal article to support the series, means for rotating the member to change the form of the terminal article, and means for moving the member bodily in engagement with the succeeding article in the series to release the terminal article.

7. In an apparatus for separating boxes from a nested series, a conduit through which nested boxes advance, and means movable bodily at the delivery-end of the conduit and arranged to engage the opposite sides of the open end of the terminal box at points removed longitudinally of the series from the succeeding box therein and press said sides toward each other.

8. In an apparatus for separating boxes from a nested series, a conduit through which nested boxes advance, and means movable at the delivery-end of the conduit to press the opposite sides of the terminal box toward each other and for separating the opposite sides of the succeeding box of the series at points of engagement therewith.

9. In an apparatus for separating boxes from a nested series, a conduit through which the nested boxes advance, a member with which the boxes in the conduit successively contact, and means for moving the member to alternately contract and expand each terminal box.

10. In an apparatus for separating boxes from a nested series, a conduit through which the nested boxes advance, opposite members With which the boxes in the conduit successively contact, means for rotating the members to contract the terminal box of the series, and means for reciprocating the members to expand the succeeding box of the series.

11. In an apparatus for separating articles from a series, a conduit by which the series of articles may be supplied, a movable article-engaging helix having its axis intersecting the path of the articles through the conduit, and means for moving the helix.

12. In an apparatus for separating articles from a series, a conduit by Which the series of articles may be supplied, a movable article-engaging helix having its axis lying in a substantially horizontal plane and inclined to the side of the conduit, said axis intersecting the path of the articles through the conduit, and means for rotating the helix.

13. In an apparatus for separating boxes from a nested series, a chute through Which the series of boxes may descend, movable helices arranged at opposite sides of the chute for contact with the walls of descending boxes, and means for moving the helices bodily in contact With the boxes.

14. In an apparatus for separating boxes from a nested series, a chute through Which the series of boxes may descend, movable helices arranged at opposite sides of the chute for contact with the Walls of descending boxes and with their axes inclined With respect to said Walls, and means for rotating the helices in contact with the boxes.

15. In an apparatus for separating boxes from a nested series, a chute through which the series of boxes may descend, movable helices arranged at opposite sides of the chute for contact with the Walls of descending boxes, means for moving the helices to contract the terminal box of the series, and means for moving the helices to expand the succeeding box of the series.

16. In an apparatus for separating boxes from a nested series, a chute through which the series of boxes may descend, movable helices arranged at opposite sides of the chute for contact with the Walls of descending boxes, means for rotating the helices, and means for reciprocating the helices.

17. In a separating apparatus, a conduit through which articles to be separated descend, a shaft rotatable at one side of the conduit With its axis intersecting the path of the articles therein, an article-engaging helix carried by the shaft, and means for rotating the shaft.

18. In a separating apparatus, a conduit through which articles to be separated descend, a shaft rotatable at one side of the conduit, an article-engaging helix carried by the shaft, means for rotating the shaft, a member secured to the shaft and having a cam-groove, and a relatively fixed member projecting into the groove.

19. In an apparatus for separating boxes from a nested series, a chute through Which the series of boxes may descend bottoms up, means at the lower extremity of the chute for successively engaging the edges of the box-walls to separate the boxes from the series, a conveyor operating below the chute, an inverting abutment situated above the conveyor in the path of the edges of the separated boxes falling from the chute, and a second abutment arranged to direct upon the conveyor boxes received from the inverting abutment.

CUTLER D. KNOWLTON. 

